Debbie Jenkinson
| Debbie Jenkinson | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Irish |
| Area(s) | Artist, illustrator |
Notable works | Remorse |
| Collaborators | Sarah Bowie |
| debbiejenkinson | |
Debbie Jenkinson is an illustrator and comic artist from Dublin, Ireland, who is active in the small-press comic scene.
Education
[edit]Jenkinson studied animation in the 1990s at Ballyfermot, when she read and was inspired by Art Spiegelman's Maus.[1] After working in an animation studio in the United States, she returned to Ireland to pursue her MA at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD).[2]
Career
[edit]Jenkinson is the creator of a long-form comic, Remorse, a story about a young Dubliner who is trapped in a call centre job.[3][4][5] It was chosen as runner up on Comicosity's Best of 2015 by Alison Berry.[6] Jenkinson speaks about the "magical triangulation" that occurs in comics, between the image, the text, and the reader.[1] "I think our brains take in pictorial information in a different way...a more natural way. There's something really immersive about reading a comic, that's different from reading prose...It's like looking at the world through someone else's eyes."[1]
She is co-founder of The Comics Lab, a quarterly meet-up of artists in Ireland.[7] She also helped launch the first Graphic Short Prize which is run through The Irish Times with fellow artist Sarah Bowie.[1][8]
Jenkinson has served on the committee of the Dublin Comic Arts Festival (DCAF), a quarterly comics festival, since 2017.[9][10]
Jenkinson is a member of Stray Lines, an Irish collective of illustrators and comics artists. In 2015, she contributed the comic Bubble: A True Story to Experiment, the collective's debut comics anthology, which was reviewed by Broken Frontier.[11] Jenkinson is also a member of Illustrators Ireland, a non-profit professional organization representing illustrators in Ireland.[12]
Comics
[edit]Jenkinson's comics work includes Ghosting, which won the Irish Comic News Awards' Overall Best Irish Comic award in 2020 and was included in The Irish Times' list of the best graphic novels of 2021.[13]
In 2023, Jenkinson published Midlands, a self-published graphic novel. Irish Examiner included the work in its list of the best comics and graphic novels of 2023, describing it as a follow-up to her 2020 work Ghosting and discussing its use of landscape, landmarks and themes of community.[14] Midlands was also featured in the World Illustration Awards.[15] The work was subsequently reviewed by Una Mullally in The Irish Times in March 2024.[16]
In 2025, Jenkinson contributed to the Museum of Childhood Ireland's Kings and Queens of the Road project, an initiative exploring people's memories of travelling to and from school.[17][18]
Selected works
[edit]- Heirloom
- War Chest
- The Yellow Planet
- Remorse
- Sunset 4:19
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Freyne, Patrick (15 January 2019). "Comic timing: Why The Irish Times is backing a new graphic short story competition". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ↑ "Dublin Zine Fair Participant Interview #7 | Dublin Zine Fair". The Dublin Zine Fair. 11 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ↑ "REMORSE – Debbie Jenkinson". www.debbiejenkinson.net. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ↑ "Comic Book Review: Remorse". Geek Ireland. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ↑ Andy Shaw (5 February 2016). "Remorse". Grovel. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ↑ "Best of 2015: Graphic Novel". Comicosity. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ↑ "Ireland's first Graphic Short Story Prize: The runner-up". The Irish Times. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ↑ "Comic Book Review: Remorse". Geek Ireland. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ↑ "Midlands". DCAF. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Carroll, Paul (26 April 2017). "Photos from DECAF, April 23 2017". Comix Ireland. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Oliver, Andy (24 September 2015). "Experiment - Irish Collective Stray Lines Debut an Impressive Anthology with Work from Debbie Jenkinson, Katherine Foyle, Alan Dunne and More". Broken Frontier. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ "Irish Spanish Latin American Festival: a bridge between English and Spanish". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ↑ O'Reilly, Seamas. "The best graphic novels of 2021: take a murderously funny trip through lockdown". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ O’Mahony, Don (25 December 2023). "Highlights of 2023: Best comics and graphic novels of the year". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ AOI, The. "Debbie Jenkinson – World Illustration Awards". The AOI. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ "Comic artist Debbie Jenkinson: 'I like the idea that you're looking over Dublin and could pick out anyone's story'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ "Kings and Queens of the Road: Debbie Jenkinson – The Museum of Childhood Ireland". museumofchildhood.ie. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ "Exploring Dublin Comic Con 2026: A Colourful Experience!". downthetubes.net. 25 August 2026. Retrieved 5 September 2026.